Teddy Tetak ’ s Mental Game Propels Him to Top Finish at Dustin Johnson World Junior Golf Championship
By Stacy Shanks
“ I had two private mental sessions with Ian Highfield which helped a lot ,” said Tetak . “ Before the tournament I wrote down some process goals and outcome goals . The outcome goals I threw in the trash because I didn ’ t want to worry about the outcomes . I just tried to follow the 13 processes I had down on paper . After every round I would tick every box if I followed the process or not . I followed all of them basically .”
This new mental mindset was the difference maker for Tetak . In the past the outcome would ’ ve been much different .
Teddy Tetak , 16 , recently competed in the Dustin Johnson World Junior Golf Championship in Murrells Inlet , SC and finished second . While Tetak played great golf , it was his mental mindset that stood out above the rest .
Tetak put together three great rounds for a 1-over 217 finish . He led the field with 12 birdies and two eagles over the three rounds .
“ The best part of my game was definitely second shots on par 5s ,” said Tetak . “ Out of the 12 par 5s , I hit nine of them in two and most of them were within 20 feet . I was really happy with that part of my game . I also hit a lot of quality iron shots and a couple clutch putts to save par or to make birdie .”
While there were many highs , Tetak faced several challenges during the event . During the second round , he made a triple on No . 10 but bounced back with a par on No . 11 and birdie on No . 12 . There was a similar situation during the final round in which Tetak made a quadruple bogey on the par-3 seventh and followed that up with a birdie on No . 8 .
Tetak ’ s ability to put bad holes behind him showed his resilience and the changes he ’ s been working on at Bishops Gate Golf Academy with his mental game .
“ I get down on myself a lot , so at this tournament I stayed positive and focused on the next shot and not what happened ,” said Tetak . “ I bound through some adversity during the tournament and I was happy .”
The changes Tetak made to his mental game started prior to the tournament at BGGA .
“ Watching Teddy evolve each day in training , as a result of his daily reflection and commitment to developing grit , resilience and the ability to play with his optimal activation level , I knew that Teddy would be prepared to handle the adversity of the Dustin Johnson event ,” said BGGA Coach Zach Parker .
“ I didn ’ t get mad at all ,” said Tetak . “ I just took my medicine and went on to the next hole . That in my opinion shows that I didn ’ t just give up and I just kept playing .”
Tetak wasn ’ t the only one who saw his resilience during the event . A SEC college coach was in attendance and after seeing how Tetak recovered after a few rough holes , he offered him a scholarship for his golf program .
Tetak said , “ The coach was really impressed with how I handled myself after two rough holes , and I showed him that even if I have a bad hole I just don ’ t give up .”
“ While Teddy ’ s result and statistics were impressive , the proudest moment for me and all of Teddy ’ s team was when he fed back the conversation he had with a college coach following the event ,” said Parker . “ If that coach had watched Teddy six months ago he would ’ ve seen a completely different young man .”
Tetak played well , didn ’ t give up and showed great strides in his mental game that helped propel him to a top finish .
“ The event was great from top to bottom ,” said Tetak . “ It was a cherry on top that Dustin Johnson could come for the practice round and the first day . The whole tournament was a fun experience . “